“Hello Everyone, We hope you’re all taking the heat ok, it is verrrrry hot up here at the farm these days, but our super-tough farm crew is out there working in the heat to weed and harvest the veggies regardless!

The crops don’t seem to mind the heat so much, the peas, green beans, and zucchini are just loving it, and taking the opportunity to grow grow grow! We have a great crop of SUGAR SNAP PEAS this year, these are super sweet and have edible pods, so don’t shell them, just eat them whole!

Firstly I need to say that I think farmer’s have one of the most underappreciated jobs in the world!

I can’t imagine how exhausted they were this week in the fields during this heat wave!

They deserve to be paid much, much more than they are. When you cringe at the price of organic fruit and vegetables just think how much work it took to get that to your plate. I think many of us forget that organic farming requires a lot more work without the use of pesticides. Farmers have to deal not only with weeds overtaking and killing their crop but they also have to deal with more insects and animals too. My Aunt has an organic garden and she said that she has to spend over 12 hours just to weed her 10ft by 12 ft organic garden and often animals eat a lot of the crop. Sometimes the weeds will grow so quickly they ‘strangle’ the crop and kill the plant. It is hard work to be any kind of farmer, but I think this is especially true for organic farmers. They are truly unsung heroes.

Eric and I are quite frugal with money but the one thing we are willing to spend money on is good quality food!

We have another situation here…

A lot of this is produce from LAST WEEK’s share..eek. Must. eat. more.

Green onions are the new garlic scape, did ya know?

Eric heard about my near fall with the VOO the other morning so he put a crate for me to step up on!

Embarrassing…. :tongue:

This looked like the perfect spot for a veggie glamour shoot…

For all organic vegetables, we definitely are getting out money’s worth each week.

This cost us just $22.50 CAD (it’s a half share)

Personally I think that is a steal for very fresh, organic produce. If we were to buy this at Whole Foods, it would probably be at double this amount if not more.

Fluffy lettuce!!

Ok, back to the situation we have here.

The green onions are seriously out of control! They must be drinking Green Monsters or something because they are growing like weeds!

I put the zucchini next to it so you could have some perspective on how big it is!

I can’t get enough of the green onions in salads lately.

Sugar Snap Peas!

Cutest veggie, hands down.

This was our first time having Sugar Snap Peas and Eric and I both are obsessed now. I love that you can eat the pods. They are so sweet and crunchy and excellent in hummus.

LOVE beet greens! They are so tender and with a delicate, delicious flavor…

Saute with olive oil and shallots and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper is my favorite. I find garlic and onions a little too overpowering with beet greens. IMO shallots compliment the beet greens PERFECTLY :)

Thank you so much for the farmer shoutout! It’s hard work indeed, and the heat on Monday and Tuesday was pretty damn brutal. I drank literally 7 water bottles worth of water each day! Lots of my sweat (but no blood and tears haha) went into harvesting on those two days.

You’re right about the prices- since I started my farm job I have a whole new respect for the elevated prices of organic produce. Hand weeding can be pretty back-breaking and the weeds never stop!

As challenging as farm work is, I really do adore it. It doesn’t feel like work, it feels like play. I drive home from work at the end of a long day with a stupid grin on my face, I’m just so happy. In fact I just pressed publish on a post devoted to how much I love my job!

1) Organic is definitely more expensive, but only because the pesticide and chemically fertilized food is made so incredibly cheap. If we continue to support farms that grow their food using pesticides and chemical fertilizers, they will never have incentive to change their practices. The same goes for livestock.

2) You should try roasting your red potatoes under the broiler til cooked through and crispy. Just quarter them and stick them in a baggie with a little olive oil and seasoning. They give you a nice “french fry” fix, and they go great with black bean or veggie burgers. It’s one of my favorite ways to eat red potatoes!

I want to sign up for a CSA! Ours is way more expensive unfortunately. :(

#1 – I think organic food is a bit high, but I think the real problem is that most people don’t put enough $ to food (not in my country at least). Society has taught us that we need food faster and cheaper. My family taught me that we need food fresh and high quality. I prefer my fam’s teachings. :)
#2 – I’m thinking of trying Mama Pea’s cookies and cream vegan ice cream…or making cinnamon vanilla nut butter from scratch…or baking something delicious!

I know the green onions I have been getting the last few weeks in my CSA have been crazy huge and so tasty!

If you are interested you should check out the Apples to Oysters book by Margaret Webb. Is a great book and each chapter focuses on farming within a Canadian province. I blogged about it just after I read it: http://torontoworkout.com/2010/04/thinking-about-farming/

we visit farmer’s markets for much of our summer produce, and it’s fairly priced. I would always pay more for fresh… while waiting for summer be able to plant my garden, I would HATE to purchase fresh basil, only to have most of it be bad the next day :(

I totally agree about peas being the cutest veggie! I have the most adorable (and funny) Engrish stationery that I bought when I was in Japan that features peas!

I’m possibly going to make some Vegan Mexican Chocolate cookies for the meet up on Sunday but we’ll see if I have time! I have a hot date with my boyfriend tonight and then it’s a 14k trail run along the Niagara Escarpment tomorrow!

As much as I can’t always afford organic (hence why I had to give up my own organics delivery) I’m alright with the price. Organic farmers don’t get government kick backs (as far as I’m aware of anyway) and work a LOT for what they produce. Not to mention it’s not yet mainstream and those products are always more expensive. Perhaps if more people start to put their money towards organics the prices would drop a bit.

If a green monster is on the menu this week, try throwing some fresh parsley in there! I LOVE fresh herbs in my GMs – basil, cilantro, and parsley are all excellent and I would love to try mint, too. I don’t know about green onion, though…

Fun recipe for the weekend: I’m planning to make a raw vegan coffee “creamer” I discovered last year. I was just loaned an espresso maker (uh-oh). The creamer is an extra creamy homemade almond milk blended w/ coconut water instead of plain water. Will be buying organic espresso. (Will try to go easy on the coffee drinking since I gave it up last year. Been wanting to go back in moderation)

Organic produce – I’m sooo lucky I have a little local market w/ great prices. But I hear Whole Foods is pricey. Sales help, and CSA’s if you can find one.

The price for organic produce is determined by the market for it, and I think for the most part it is fair. However, in general, I think people don’t spend enough money on food. It logically follows that high quality, fresh, all natural food would cost more; and I think people need to buy more of this kind of food and less cheap, processed, chemical laden food!

Organic food is more expensive in general, but sometimes I can find organic produce for cheaper than the conventional produce if I look carefully. I try to buy organic fruits and veggies that are part of the ‘dirty dozen’

I think about teachers’ salaries when people talk about the price of food. Everyone says that teachers should earn more, but very few are willing to pay the extra tax money to give teachers a better salary! Similarly, people want low prices when they walk into the grocery store without thinking about the farmers who are the reason why food is on the shelves in the first place.

People today spend less money on food, as a proportion of income, than ever in history. Prices are artificially low because of government corn and meat subsidies – in other words, taxpayer dollars! So one way or the other, we’re paying for the true cost of our food; we just don’t realize it.

Personally, I’d prefer to pay a little extra for the guarantee that my money helps to support the lives and livelihoods of farmers who care about the food they produce and the environment they live in.

Mmmmm, I LOVE sugar snap peas! My dad used to grow a garden, and when I was younger, I would always go out during the day while he was working and eat them right off the vines. Yeah…he didn’t appreciate that very much! Or the fact that I’d pull up his carrots & onions as soon as I saw sprouts…woops!

1. I think organic food is totally reasonably priced, but we have become used to the prices of factory-farmed, mass-produced foods that they seem so exorbitant in comparison. Really, when we think about the importance of food – y’know, to sustain life! – not to mention the sheer amount of pleasure that eating brings, food, including organic food, is terribly underpriced. I mean, in some areas of the world, people spend 50% of their net incomes on food! I spend about 10%. Ridonks!

2. This weekend I am going to the United States, the Land of Plentiful Greek Yogurt! I know that isn’t such an appealing prospect for a vegan, but this Greek yogurt-deprived Canadian is STOKED. I am also going to seek out various nut butters of various types and brands ;)

The prices of organics are tricky. For someone who doesn’t know anything about organics, they’re priced way too high. For those who do know something, they’re priced just right. For the farmers, they’re priced too low. So it all depends on where you’re coming from! For me, I understand the farmers need the extra money because it is so labor instensive but I would love to see the prices go down. I think if people buy more organics they eventually will..but until then they have to stay high to cover the farming expenses.

My boyfriend and I have been living together for 2 years – I would say that most of our expendable income goes towards delicious produce, vegan substitutes, and eating at our favorite restaurants. We are both total foodies, and believe that spending money on good food is a great investment

I think organics are expensive (as compared to conventional foods) but it looks like you got a great deal of veggies for that price. I wish it weren’t so darn expensive to eat all organic, all the time.

I love beet greens! I prefer to steam them and then give a quick saute with some olive oil and garlic before I eat them. I don’t salt them because they’ve actually got quite a salty taste and natural sodium in them by themselves!

I take some olive oil and fresh garlic heat that in a pan let the garlic brown but not burn then I take zuchnni I spelled that wrong I know anyway cut the zucs the long way and quartered the I take a fresh ear of corn and take the corn off the cob and saute it with the garlic and oil. Add some salt pepper and cumin. Let the zucs get a tad bit soft then you know its done. I got this receipe from the Farmers Market in New York City. Enjoy. Anyone makes this let me know how you like it. I’m making it tonight.

I think what you have to say regarding the price of organic food and how much more work the farmer has to put into it is totally true. Another perspective on whether the price of organic food is worth is this: it’s a lot cheaper than the cancer treatment that may be needed due to excessive pesticide exposure!

When I am shopping for food I try to remember what my mum told me – it’s not a waste of money if you’re buying good quality, nutritious food – it’s a way of investing in yourself & your future :) That doesn’t mean our food bill is $200/week, but I try to keep it under $100 and still get what we need. The concept of being ‘in season’ has definitely come into play more recently. Your veggies look VERY yummy!!!!

Yum – sugar snap peas are delicious! Throw them in your salad, they are so sweet and crunchy!

I think farmers are definitely undervalued. There is a large disconnect between what people eat and where it comes from. I would like to see more government subsidies going towards improving and assisting organic farming practices to make organic vegetables more accessible to more people. In my country at least, there are two huge supermarket chains that pretty much own the majority of the large businesses here, and they have a monopoly on the fresh produce. They pay the farmers very little and get them to sign up for long periods of time – the farmers have little choice but to comply. Because the farmers are not paid a lot, the produce in the supermarkets is relatively cheap (well, it can be – obviously it is controlled by the corporations and they do what they like!). I refuse to buy from these supermarkets, instead getting my produce from a coop arrangement where we get a veggie box delivered each week, as well as buying local produce (I live near a semi-rural area).

I also think that buying seasonally helps – if it’s not summer, tomatoes, zucchinis, mangoes and peaches shouldn’t be there!

So, I think that people should be willing to pay a little bit more for good quality fresh produce that is ethically produced. It has actually been shown that we spend much less on our weekly food bill than we used to, and than they do in European countries (France, Italy etc) where the emphasis is on quality and food plays a central role in people’s lives, it’s not something to scoff down on the run. I guess it’s about priorities – for me, food is important and pleasurable and I love creating and sharing food with friends and family, whereas for other people, they skimp on food to buy “stuff” (big flatscreen tv, 4WD car etc). I would never spend money on that kind of stuff.

organic foods have been proven to have more nutrients, so it’s worth the extra cost for me. but, in general it is unfair that vegetable farmers do not get the types of subsidies that animal product farmers and grain farmers do. the country needs to find a way to make eating greens more affordable because our health is important!

I think organic produce prices are too high in Whole Foods, but just right from a Farmers Market or CSA share. I am so glad to have signed up for my share. I get fruits and veggies and the apricots this week are perfect, so crisp and delicious! We also got 4 ears of corn and plan to grill them tomorrow…so excited!

Those veggies look awesome and are such good value considering it does take quite a bit for you to get through them all. You’d better be careful those onions don’t start taking over your house, they’re insane!!

I posted a post on Organic food this morning! I think Organic is an essential part of my diet. While I no not buy all Organic, I understand the risks I am taking when i do not buy Organic. Wonderful Post and you are right – farmers are under paid and over worked.

Farming is definitely a difficult job. My grandparents are farmers and my parents used to have a small farm so I know how difficult it gets, especially in the summer.

I think organic food is priced too high, at least here in the US. But then again, it also depends where you get it. At the farmer’s market it’s pretty cheap but at Whole Foods it’s definitely high. I understand why the prices are higher though. I wish our food system was different and more priority was placed on fresh, local, organic foods. :(

I think the price you’re paying for all those veggies is AWESOME. I recently went to our local CSA, and, unfortunately, was very disappointed. We got probably not even a third of what you got, and it was more expensive. So, I’m looking at other options like a larger Farmer’s Market. We shall see…

Give them another chance. Depending on where you are and how your weather conditions have been they could be having a rough start. As the summer progresses, there may be other crops with a higher production. It is still a bit early as far as harvesting goes in some areas.

I grew working on our family farm and I can easily agree that farmers need more respect! While many of them love their jobs, its definitely not easy work. Recently, I’ve started switching over most products to organic and have noticed the bills going up, but I’d rather give up my cable TV than put poor food in my mouth. Its just a sacrifice that my Fiance and I will easily make. Plus, our health bills may be slashed in half in the future :)

I come from a long line of farmers. It is so nice to hear praise towards them. Conventional or organic, it is grueling work that many people take for granted. No farms no food! Enjoy your veggies. I love to see what you get from your CSA each week.

You should tell your aunt about lasagna gardening. There are hardly no weeds in our garden and the produce is amazing!

I’m not sure what’s on the menu this weekend, but this afternoon I got inspired by RAWvolution’s truffles and made some flavours of my own (which I will blog about if they turn out to be edible – they’re in the freezer right now). They totally reminded me of your Glo Dough… which remind me of Timbits… which remind me that Americans call them doughnut holes (lol)… which made me think: GLONUT HOLES! ;D

Those veggies all look so amazing!! I understand the price of organic veggies, but I really do wish there was a way for them to be more affordable on anyone’s budget! Perhaps it could be cheaper if farmers and consumers shared plots or something? Isn’t that sort of the idea of a CSA? You buy into their plot so they can provide cheaper produce? I want so badly to buy organic vegetables (especially considering they make up most of my diet!), but I just can’t swing it while I am a student.

Thank you for sharing this..it never hurts to remind us that there is a lot of heart and soul and sweat and tears that go into our Organic eats. I tend to opt for the cheaper selection, but I will think twice. Better quality and knowing the effort behind it, makes me want to buy more organic. Thanks! :)

Thanks for throwing in that reminder about farmers. It’s easy to forget that there is a person’s job behind all that produce and that it’s a tough job to boot. All the farmers out there deserve major props for what they do!

i find that organic produce in my area, while slightly more expensive yes, stays fresher longer. this might be in my head, but i find that the higher quality produce i buy the less i am throwing out–this also is because we’re more likely to eat the higher quality produce. so those two things combined i think end up saving us money because we’re not tossing it in the garbage.

great point with the shout out to the farmers–it’s easy to overlook but important not to. thanks for the reminder :)

Hi Angela.
I just read your “hot post” journey…and am so inspired and intriguied. My weight is at a fairly healthy place, but that is usually my focus. I’d love to try to make the move to intuitive eating. Any recommended resources?

By the way, in post #4 (I think) you mentioned some things you’ve “come to terms with,” stating your arms and legs will never be twig-like. That made me sorta sad, since given your photos, you have an incredibly lovely body and slim arms/legs. You are thin! So to say you’re not is a little bit like a slap to those of us who are more large-built. :( Maybe I’m just overly sensitive, though, and maybe I’m not at my proper weight yet either.

Sigh.
Lana.
PS – I TOTALLY share in your (former) passion for / addiction to yogurt. Have you found a good “replacement”? For me i think it is the creamy texture and the fun things I can add (fruit, granola, etc). I’d love some assistance as I conider the vegan route…

Regarding my journey #4 post, I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I never said I am not thin…I was referring to the fact that my legs/arms would never be the size that my eating disorder wanted them to be for all those years. Hope that clarifies! :)

I have not found a replacement for yogurt…I actually stopped craving it after a few months! I was not a fan of the soy yogurts out there.

Milk products have actually been found in many studies to leach calcium from the bones and a lot of the research is pointing to plant sources of calcium as being superior and better for the body.

I have a newfound love for organic foods. At first I thought they were a bit high but when I started buying organic strawberries, so very juicy and sweet and organic beets that made my juices so good and sweet, I have fallen in love with the organic concept. I really do appreciate our farmers and in fact so much so, I have finally decided to join our local CSA and am taking a tour of the actual market this Sunday with a girlfriend of mine. We are going to split the sharings. I’m excited about that. I’ve also wondered what to do with the beet greens, I usually just compost them because I don’t know what else to do with them. Let us know what you end up doing with them.

Well I am a first time commenter…but I read your blog daily and I love it! So inspiring!

As for the beet leaves, there is an eastern european dish that called Beet Leaf Buns – it’s to DIE FOR! It uses a basic bread recipe to form little buns, which you wrap the beet leaves around. They end up looking somewhat like grape leaf rolls. Somewhere in there the buns are baked and the final step involves dousing the buns in a creamy garlic sauce and baking them a little more. I’m sure there is a recipe somewhere online. Anyways, they are absolutely delicious! I’m sure you have some tricks up your sleeve for some vegan substitutions… :)

I love supporting organic and local farms. I completely agree- they are unappreciated and underpaid. That’s why I shop at farmers’ markets and my local co-op. It’s really not that expensive if you’re shopping close to home.

I think organic is expensive, but worth it. It is going to be expensive when the majority of people want cheap food and don’t care where it comes from. It is crazy to me that people don’t think about those kinds of things! If everyone got on board, maybe organic would be the new norm.

BTW, that is a lot of veggies for 2 people for one week. But! I have been known to put back a LOT of veggies.. I could get it done for sure.

Organic produce is expensive when you compare it to non-organic but it is so worth it. Food is too cheap these days. As a student on a budget, I can’t afford to buy organic produce all the time, but I try my best. I also try and get to the farmer’s market becuase I think buying local produce is just as important if not more so than buying organic.
My family has a fairly large garden in our backyard that I suppose is organic (never thought of that before) since we don’t use anything but water and love to maintain it. I have salads every day with veggies straight from my backyard. This is the way to go budget wise as well. We spent about 50 bucks to get it started every year (not including tomato and pepper plants from my grandfather’s greenhouse). 50 bucks for a whole summer of fresh produce!
Thank for sharing the info on the cost of a CSA. I always thought it was out of my price range but 22.50 is affordable to share with roomates! I look forward to see what you do with some of those veggies this week!

I think some foods are definitely overpriced!! I mean, $10 for 150g of rasperries?? hmm… But this might just be because of where I live so I guess it really depends. On the other hand, I recently found organic pumpkin which was actually cheaper than non-organic!! Considering I eat it almost every day (lol yes, I’m addicted) this was a great find. :)
I agree with Chelsea that people should pay more attention to where their food comes from! And also, why isn’t all food organic?

Mmmmmm, beet greens, one of my faves. They’re pretty good prepared any way – I’ve even eaten them raw as a salad. And sugar snap peas are my current favorite raw snacking veggie.

I think the price for organic produce depends on where you’re buying it. At the farmers market and some grocery stores, I think it’s price just right. I also think it’s important to buy only what’s in season, that’s where you can really save!

I’m currently working on vegan “chicken” and dumplings to take to a potluck tomorrow, I hope it turns out well. Have a great day at the market!

I think organic veg is still priced too high- even though I live in southern Ontario and I imagine it’s cheaper here than in areas where farming is not as common, I have to confess that I’ll still go for cheaper non-organic produce. Hopefully it will become ‘normal’ to be organic soon, and the price will come down!

I have a couple of new things coming up this week, including some sort of recipe with teff which I haven’t found yet but I’m determined to try on Tuesday!

I’m reading Eating Animals right now and am understanding why some foods are so cheap (animal cruelty) so I’m feeling less offended by the cost of food grown with care. But we are a family of two — I feel for larger families.

I’m going try out a new veggie burger and soba salas this weekend and will let my weekly farmers market haul inspire me.

I never thought I’d call a vegetable cute, but those sugar snap peas seriously made me go “Awww” out loud! You’re so lucky to get a CSA share every week. Such amazing produce! I wish we had such availability to organic products in China. :(

I think organic food, particularly LOCAL organic food, is worth the price.

We’re on our 10th year of our CSA. A few years ago, for fun (being frugal), I priced it out. We did not have a Whole Foods at the time, so for a couple of weeks, I went to the regular grocery store and priced out regular produce.

The price came out to be about the same – back then about $16/week. So, we were paying the same amount for organic local produce as we would at the grocery store for conventional.

The biggest issue for us is that the quality of the CSA produce cannot be beat. Picked fresh, lasts a LOT longer. I just ate last week’s (so, one week old) collard greens, still crisp!

I’m still the frugal queen, but for me, quality of produce is a must. And if you buy in season, you can still feed your family for a reasonable price.

Last night I made vegan pad thai tofu (over rice though). This weekend – big batch of basil pesto, probably some cilantro cashew pasta (also vegan – got a HUGE bunch of cilantro), and a pot of soup. Luckily, June gloom is still here in July, so I can still cook soup.

I’m answering your question from the US perspective, although I’d bet a lot of this is true for Canada also…

Our government spends too much money subsidizing corn and soy to actually make us aware of the price that it should cost, and unfortunately they’re not doing crap to help out the organic farmers that are providing us food at a more real cost. Soda would cost like $10 for a 2 liter bottle if it were priced as it should be, but instead everything fresh & good for you costs that much and people are stuck making decisions about food over money. We’re definitely not familiar enough with the real costs involved with food, and we’re all so used to buying anything we want year round, such as bananas which basically don’t ever come from this continent, let alone your local area. Obviously I still buy bananas, but the fact that they’re often less than $1/lb here seems suspicious if for no other reason than the fact that the labor in Chile and other banana producing countries is crazy cheap compared to US labor.

I just had to leave my two cents on the cost of organic produce and food in general. I live in the U.S. so I am speaking from that perspective:

In the U.S. we spend the lowest percentage of our disposable income on food – 9.47 % in 2009 – versus anywhere else in the world! Italians pay 14.4% – South Africa 20.1%

Thanks to the government and food subsidies it is possible to buy really cheap food. (Don’t even get me started on that topic) So no, I don’t believe that we spend too much on food. I think that it is sad that we have the option to pay too little for chemically altered food-like substances. It is my belief that organic food is well worth the price. Whatever price that may be. You are going to pay for it somewhere – with your wallet or with your health. For me it all comes down to my personal beliefs and what industries I want to support with my dollar.

Hi Angela! I tried your Banana Soft Serve Vegan Overnight Oats and when I checked them this morning they were very runny, like soup. I followed the recipe exactly, any idea what I might have done wrong? Thanks!

I have a really great and simple salad recipe that I use with fresh beets all the time when they are in season. I just call it my grated red salad, and apart from a couple of key ingredients you can add pretty much anything to it. The proportions are also very flexible and can be adjusted to taste.

About the same quantities of fresh beets, apples and carrots. Scale to your own requirements.
Lemon or lime juice.
Nuts and seeds – I really like pumpkin and sunflower seeds in this, but anything will work.
Dried fruit – sultanas, currants, raisins, or dried cranberries are great, but whatever you have on hand or like.
Other possible vegetables – fresh radishes, Japanese turnips, anything crisp that will hold its shape when grated and can be eaten raw.

Great all of your fresh vegetables and mix them together. The beet will colour everything the most beautiful deep red.
Add any nuts and seeds and give the whole thing a mix.
Taste test. With carrots, apples and beets it will probably be sweet, although depends on the varieties and ages of the vegetables and fruit you have used. Add a little lemon or lime juice to balance it out to your taste.
Serve. I like to put it out surrounded by a border of greens like baby spinach (the beet leaves are also perfect for this).
Enjoy!

Looking at this recipe, it looks very similar to one of your morning juices :-)

I love beets! A really yummy recipe is if you just cook the beets in a big pot of water on the stove and then cut them horizonally into thin slices and stack them with spinach and usually goat cheese but I bet they would still be good minus the goat cheese!

Here’s an idea that I used yesterday with my beets from the farmers market. Make a beet risotto but use the beet greens in it as well. Roast off the root part of the beets and chop it up to throw in the risotto (throw them in at the beginning after sauteing the rice). Blanch the beet greens, chop them up, and put these guys in at the end (after the rice has soaked up all of the stock). It was delicious and very nutritious as well! And I loved the fact that I did not have to throw any part of the beet away!